Schadenfreude

Greenspan and Paulson Are Guilty

A leading Keynesian gloats over his opponents’ misfortunes.

The greatest debate of the age, whether the free market should stay free or whether federal government has a part to play in the health of the economy, took a sudden turn with the credit crunch and subsequent meltdown of the banks. One who can hardly conceal his glee is James K. Galbraith, son of the Keynesian guru J.K. Galbraith, who helped implement Franklin Roosevelt’s big government spending program, the New Deal. Alan Greenspan’s part in the system’s downfall? “I think Greenspan bears a high, high degree of responsibility for what has happened,” he told Deborah Solomon. Paulson? “He wasn’t adequately prepared.” And the failure of his fellow economists to predict the impending disaster? “It’s an enormous blot on the reputation of the profession.”